1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, an apparatus, and a program for laying out a plurality of images on a single background image.
2. Description of the Related Art
The positions of people who are pictured within images are very important, in images that include people as subjects. Particularly for ID photos such as those employed for passports and the like, it is necessary to photograph a face of a predetermined size, at a predetermined position, within an image of a predetermined size. For this reason, techniques for extracting faces from images, trimming the images and changing the sizes thereof such that the faces are of a predetermined size and at a predetermined position within the images have been proposed (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 11(1999)-341272, 2000-270198, and 2000-270199).
A technique for generating photo albums, such as yearbooks, has also been proposed in European Patent Application Publication No. 1005220. In this technique, facial regions are extracted from images obtained by photographing people. The extracted facial regions are normalized and pasted onto a single background. According to this technique, the sizes of facial images of a plurality of people who are included in the photo album can be uniformized, and therefore, attractive albums can be generated.
However, there are cases in which not one but a plurality of people are pictured when images are obtained by photography during a trip, an athletic event, and the like. In these cases, the faces pictured within a single image are smaller compared to cases in which a single person is included in an image. In addition, in the case that images are obtained by photographing people in front of a scenic background, the main subject is not the people but the landscape. Therefore, the sizes of the people's faces tend to be extremely small in these images. For these reasons, if images, in which the faces of people pictured therein are small, are laid out onto a single background, if the sizes of the faces are normalized as in the case of the aforementioned ID photos or photo albums, it becomes necessary to greatly enlarge the images. In addition, if portions that people are pictured in within the enlarged images are trimmed, the mood of the image is greatly lost. Particularly in the case that the main subject of an image is the background, the faces of people pictured therein are extremely small. Therefore, if the sizes of the faces are normalized and the image is trimmed about the facial regions, almost none of the background will be included in the trimmed image, which causes the image to be completely different from that which the photographer intended. In addition, there are cases in which image insertion regions of the background image, into which the images are to be laid out, vary in size. In these cases, if an image, in which faces of people are pictured small, is inserted into a small image insertion region, it becomes necessary to reduce the image size. Accordingly, it becomes difficult to discern who is pictured in the image.